F+G to advise Welsh assembly on health spend

Consultant Faithful + Gould (F+G) has been appointed national cost adviser to the Welsh Health Estates and the National Assembly for Wales for the next four years.

The Welsh assembly’s investment in buildings and equipment rose to £220m this year and will be £309m by 2007/08.

F+G said the client wanted to improve the way healthcare buildings were designed and built.

Part of the consultant’s role will be to monitor the client’s contractor framework, presently occupied by Laing O’Rourke, HBG and Interserve. These firms will be working with Welsh NHS trusts over the next four years, to make sure buildings costing more than £5m meet national standards of sustainability and cost effectiveness.

Brian Gibbons, the assembly’s health minister, said: “This new model will give the NHS in Wales the extra skills and expertise it needs to deliver on our ambition of creating a world-class health service.

“It’s important that the buildings are designed and constructed to meet modern healthcare needs, and take into account their impact on their environment.”